Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System deployed to Afghanistan

APKWS, the latest weapon in the fight against insurgency forces, was recently approved for its first deployment by Headquarters Marine Corps.

The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), the latest weapon in the fight against insurgency forces, was recently approved for its first deployment by Headquarters Marine Corps.

“One of the comments we get from the shooters is that they have a high level of confidence in the weapon,” said John Watkins, director of Precision Guidance Solutions for BAE Systems in Nashua, N.H., where the guidance section is built. “The APKWS has proven its maturity, and soon it will be available to all U.S. military forces and select countries. It is reliable and does the job.”

The APKWS, the U.S. government’s only program of record for the semi-active laser-guided 2.75-inch rocket, converts the Hydra 70mm unguided rocket into a precision guided munition through the addition of a mid-body guidance unit (WGU-59/B) developed by BAE Systems.

“This deployment is the culmination of years of rigorous testing to bring this important capability to the field,” said Capt. Brian Corey, program manager, PMA-242. “APKWS allows our warfighters to accurately engage targets in urban terrain where the threat of non-combatant casualties and collateral damage has prevented us from doing so in the past.”

Since testing began in 2007, the APKWS has been fired more than 100 times with a 94 percent success rate and an average distance from the center of laser spot to the impact point of less than one meter.

Following successful initial operational test and evaluation of 35 shots in January, the APKWS was cleared for fielding and was shipped to Afghanistan in early March.

The APKWS is a “plug and play,” “point and shoot” weapon, and is fired like the unguided 2.75-inch rocket. The weapon is easily assembled by removing the warhead, attaching the guidance section to the rocket motor using existing threads, and then re-mounting the warhead to the guidance section. The weapon is shot with minimal instruction, as if it were an unguided rocket.